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Thanks to the hard work of a community committee comprising local residents and artists, the iconic Oceanides sculpture at Fairy Bower, known by locals as the 'sea nymphs, will be reinstated in long lasting bronze.

The sale of miniature sculptures of the Sea Nymphs proved a popular way to raise funds. Photo by Johannes Egberts

"We have been blown away by the passion felt by people in relation to this sculpture. The crowd-funding raised almost half the additional $40,000 needed, and the sale of limited edition miniature sculptures has ensured the funds needed have now been raised," explained Candy Bingham, Head of Fundraising for the project.

Feature stories in the Manly Daily and Sun-Herald spread the word, and more than 10,000 promotional flyers were distributed in local letterboxes promoting the crowd-funding website.

In addition, the Northern Beach Council supported the campaign by erecting a large "Save Our Sea Nymphs" donation sign at the entrance to the Fairy Bower pool.

The project was accepted by the Federal Government's Australian Cultural Fund, which enabled donations to be tax-deductible.

Artist Helen Leete worked tirelessly with the Committee, donating her time and talents to produce two miniature sculptures of the Sea Nymphs, which were available in 23cm and 50cm. Only twelve of each will be produced.

The launch of the fundraising event, took place at the Bronze Sculpture Gallery at North Head on Friday night (31/3/17) with students of Helen Leete providing the catering and the Manly Art Gallery providing its full support with the loan of glasses, a lecturn and donation box. By the end of the evening the final funds needed were quickly secured with the sale of the 50cm miniature sculptures selling out.

"The project has been a wonderful example of how the Council and its community can work together to get the outcomes they want, and really highlighted for me just how much art is appreciated in this area", Candy Bingham added.

Clive Calder of the Bronze Sculpture Gallery and Foundry at North Head will cast the replacement sculpture, which is hoped to be back in its proud position overlooking Fairy Bower Pool in time for next summer.

The campaign to Save our Sea Nymphs sculpture is moving into top gear.

The iconic Manly sculpture was damaged beyond repair in a storm last June.

Late last year a group of artists and local residents teamed up to recreate the iconic piece, but this time in beautiful, long-lasting bronze. The group is working closely with Helen Leete, the sculpture's creator, and Clive Calder from Australian Bronze gallery and foundry at North Head, who will be responsible for casting the new figures.​Good for Manly President Candy Bingham, as the group's director of fundraising, has been working hard to gain the support of the Northern Beaches Council and the Federal Government's Australia Cultural Fund.

"The council has really come on board with our campaign, Mrs Bingham said. "They have pledged to match our fundraising dollar for dollar up to $40,000, which is half of the amount that we need to raise. This is a huge endorsement of our community fundraising campaign.

"And I'm delighted to say that just this week the Australian Cultural Fund approved our application. That means that donations to Save Our Sea Nymphs are now tax deductible via our website www.saveourseanymphs.info."

As well sculptor Helen Leete is creating miniatures of her artwork for sale to assist the fundraisng. They will also be cast in bronze and will be available in limited numbers in two sizes – a 50 cm version for $,6000 and a 23 cm one for $4,000.

The campaign will be kicked off with an invitation-only launch at Australian Bronze. It will be held in early March, with a guest speaker, a spectacular bronze pour, and the miniature sculptures on display for purchase.

For more details or to make a contribution go to: www.saveourseanymphs.info​(Our thanks to local photographer, Chris Abbott, for his inspired photos of the sculpture in its former glory)

t's been almost two months since monster storm waves smashed into Manly, ripping up cement slabs and stone blocks and tossing them out to sea. ​

Damage to Marine Parade directly after the storm

Major repairs currently being undertaken.

​Marine Parade and beautiful Fairy Bower Pool were particularly hard hit, with damage not just to the footpath and pool, but to the adjacent sea wall and cliff face and underlying sewage pipes as well.

Now repair work is almost complete and the path between Fairy Bower and Shelly Beach, closed since the storms hit, is set to reopen this month.

The first job, which started immediately the storm settled, involved work by Sydney Water to repair and secure the three large sewer pipes running under the walkway. This task alone took one month, with the site only given back to the Northern Beaches Council on July 7.

The pipes, which would normally be underground, were put in when a sewerage system was first built for Manly in 1898, as it was cheaper to route the pipes around the coast line and then under North Head to the outfall at Blue Fish Point, than it was to tunnel the whole way from Manly Life Saving Club, as originally planned.

Once the pipes were repaired, the Council could hire cranes to retrieve the concrete slabs and sandstone blocks which ended up in the water. The heritage sea wall was then repaired and the concrete footpath rebuilt, with new timber handrails and posts now ready to be installed. The entire cliff face above the walkway has been inspected by a geotechnical company, with one section needing rock bolting and shot crete work to make it stable. The Catholic Archdiocese, which is the owner of that section, is funding the work which will finish early this month.

Fairy Bower Pool is being cleared of debris thrown in by the storm, a job complicated by the fact that it can only take place at low tide. And the much-loved twin ladies sculpture on the pool edge will be either replaced or repaired, after one of the twins was snapped in half by the force of the waves. The pool is set to reopen by the middle of this month.

Further work is on the agenda too. The concrete bottom of the rock pool has been cracked and uneven for months, probably years, before the storm made things worse. Tenders had already been called to carry out repairs and these will be assessed by the Council. As it is important not to make the pool shallower, work will involve removing the existing cracked floor to a depth of 10cm before replacing it with a new 10cm concrete reinforced slab. This can’t be done cheaply but as the pool bottom had become a trip hazard, it is necessary.

The most dramatic evidence of the storm’s power was the Fairy Bower toilet block, which was demolished, sheared off its footings and washed out to sea. The Council is preparing a design for a similar facility, which is expected to be completed by late next month. It is not known yet when the new facility will be built.

Good For Manly has been impressed by the work undertaken by the new Northern Beaches Council to reinstate one of Manly's favourite walkways, which is expected to be reopened mid August.

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